Adam Faucett (Photo: Jennifer Heimbaugh)The lineup is out for the first ever AMMPLIFY Arts & Music Festival event set to debut at Mount Sequoyah this spring.
Little Rock artists Adam Faucett and Bonnie Montgomery, and Fayetteville artist Justin Peter Kinkel Schuster as headliners for the first year event, set for May 6 at Mount Sequoyah Center.
In addition to the music, the event will include visual and installation art, other performances, and underlying it all will be a mentorship program intended to help folks who’d like to learn how to help put on big events to get involved.
The festival, created through a new program paid for by the Walmart Foundation and administered by Mount Sequoyah Center, will connect emerging artists, talent managers, and performers with mentors in related fields to create a multi-dimensional festival on Mount Sequoyah in the spring, and other events throughout the year.
Local promoter Roger Barrett of On the Map Shows will spearhead the festival, which will be called AMMPLIFY (Arts & Music Mentorship Program).
“Our foremost goal with AMMPLIFY is to show emerging artists that they belong in Fayetteville,” Barrett said in a press release issued when the festival was announced earlier this year. “We want to provide DIY organizers an all-ages venue for their work, and help them find connections across NWA.”
Mentors in the new program include local artists Heather Holland in graphic design, Linda Lopez in visual arts, Preston Poindexter in a/v technology, Bryan Hembree in music management, Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster in music performance, and Amber Imrie in arts management.
The mentors will lead workshops with mentees leading up to the event, and mentees will take on responsibilities to help plan the festival and subsequent events as time goes on.
“We are excited to offer a creative “third space” for emerging artists, talent managers, and performers in the region who have not had opportunities to connect with mentors in their creative field,” said Jessica DeBari, Director of Creative Spaces at Mount Sequoyah. “We have multiple versatile venues that will provide a fantastic backdrop for all of the exciting experiences planned for May 6th.”
The full lineup for the event announced so far is below.
Other satellite events are also in the works, and at least one more event will happen in 2024 as part of this program.
Artists and others interested in getting involved in the program can email [email protected].
For a bit more information about the event, visit ammplifynwa.org.
